WRITING AND
ARGUMENTATION IN
ELEMENTARY SCIENCE:
DAY 1
November 6,
2013
WELCOME!
HOPES AND FEARS?
WHAT DOES ARGUMENT MEAN IN OUR
EVERYDAY LANGUAGE?
ARGUMENT IN SCIENCE
In science, an argument is used…
“to promote as much understanding of a
situation as possible and to persuade
colleagues of the validity of a specific idea….[it]
is ideally about sharing, processing, and
learning about ideas” (NRC 2008, p 89)
A NEW MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF
SCIENCE
WHY IS ARGUMENT IMPORTANT?
“Traditional science laboratory activities are structured
around the laboratory report format. Students are
expected to engage in a format that outlines the
hypothesis, procedures, observations, results, and
discussion. Unfortunately, scientists use this format not in
the laboratory but primarily to report their work in journals
for publication. In the lab, they pose questions, make
claims, gather evidence, debate with each other, compare
their answers with others in the field, and attempt to look
for patterns across their results. Scientists are engaged in
argumentation – at the very core of science activity is
scientific argument. Having completed this process of
argument, scientists then prepare their written reports for
publication.”
~Hand, Norton-Meier, Staker, and Bintz
ORCHESTRA STUDENTS ARE
MUSICIANS;
STUDENTS ON THE
BASKETBALL TEAM ARE
ATHLETES;
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DO
OUR SCIENCE STUDENTS
HAVE TO BE SCIENTISTS?
DEVELOPING A SCIENTIFIC ARGUMENT
 How are the ideas and information
that you read connected to our
conversation about argument?
 What new ideas did you get that
extended or broadened your
thinking in new directions?
 What challenges or puzzles have
come up in your mind from the
ideas and information presented?
Adapted from Making Thinking Visible; Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison; pages 132 – 139.
We need to make sure that student writing and discourse involve all of these
components – not just descriptions of an activity.
TIME TO EMBRACE YOUR
INNER CHILD….
AS WE CONSIDER THE CCSS IN ELA…
 How are the ideas and information
that you read connected to our
conversation about argument?
 What new ideas did you get that
extended or broadened your
thinking in new directions?
 What challenges or puzzles have
come up in your mind from the
ideas and information presented?
Adapted from Making Thinking Visible; Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison; pages 132 – 139.
NEXT GENERATION
SCIENCE STANDARDS
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS
(NGSS)
ARCHITECTURE OF THE NGSS: PERFORMANCE
EXPECTATIONS
Performance
Expectations:
•These describe what a
student should be able
to do at the end of a
unit
•They are not meant to
be lesson sequences or
required activities
ARCHITECTURE OF THE NGSS
Disciplinary
Core Ideas
Science and
Engineering
Practices
Crosscutting
Concepts
ARCHITECTURE OF THE NGSS: CONNECTIONS
Connections to:
•Other content/gradebands within the NGSS
•Common Core State
Standards for
ELA/Literacy and
Mathematics
NGSS RESOURCES
http://www.nextg
enscience.org/nex
t-generationscience-standards
OUR SHIFT IN THINKING…
From thinking that one
scientific method fits all
To t h i n king a bo ut h ow to e n g a ge o ur
s t ude n t s i n t h e pra c t i c e s o f
s c i en tist s
1. Asking questions and defining
problems
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out
investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and
computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations and
designing solutions
7. Engaging in argument from
evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating and
communicating
information
OUR SHIFT IN THINKING…
From thinking that “handson” science is ESSENTIAL
To thinking that engaging
students EVERY DAY in scientific
practices and thinking is
POWERFUL
A NEW MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF
SCIENCE
SHIFTING OUR PRACTICE…
Next Generation Science Standards
Science & Engineering Practices
1. Asking questions and defining
problems
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out
investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and
computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations and
designing solutions
7. Engaging in argument from
evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating and
communicating information
From…
How am I going to
teach this?
To…
How are students going
to learn about this?
AS WE CONSIDER THE NGSS SCIENCE
AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES…
 How are the ideas and information
that you read connected to our
conversation about argument?
 What new ideas did you get that
extended or broadened your
thinking in new directions?
 What challenges or puzzles have
come up in your mind from the
ideas and information presented?
Adapted from Making Thinking Visible; Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison; pages 132 – 139.
Math
CCSS
NGSS
What’s
common?
ELA
CCSS
ALL the standards —
Math CCSS, ELA CCSS and
NGSS —
require that teachers focus
more attention on
disciplinary practices.
AN EXAMINATION OF PRACTICES
AN EXAMINATION OF PRACTICES
INSTEAD OF PRACTICES, THE ELA CCSS
IDENTIFY THE CAPACITIES OF A LITERATE
INDIVIDUAL
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/files/ConnectionsBetweenPracticesinNGSSCommonCoreMathandC
ommonCoreELA_2-12-2013.pdf
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/files/ConnectionsBetweenPracticesinNGSSCommonCoreMathandC
ommonCoreELA_2-12-2013.pdf
Scientific
Argument
Student Discourse
Writing
When procedures are uniform for all students,
where data are similar, and where claims
match expected outcomes, then the reportage
of results and conclusions often seems
meaningless to students and lacks
opportunities for deeper student learning
about the topic or for developing scientific
reasoning skills. (If everyone gets the same
answer why ask the question? How
meaningful is this type of experience? Is this
just another school exercise done to them?)
~Hand, Norton-Meier, Staker, and Bintz
As you consider this quote,
what are the implications
for our classrooms?
We need to change our
thinking with respect to
experimentation!
EXPERIMENTATION
Conventional
Separate Unit on the Scientific
Method
Then spend the rest of the year
learning content through text
resources or telling.
EXPERIMENTATION
Conventional
?
Students read the text to learn
vocabulary and background
information about clouds.
Students then observe the cloud
in a jar that confirms what they
already “know.”
EXPERIMENTATION
Shifts in Practice for NGSS
?
Students ask questions about
cloud formation and do some
investigating on their own.
Students search for answers to
their questions as they read the
text.
Scientific
Argument
Student Discourse
Writing
How might we put it all
together?
5E LEARNING CYCLE
5E Model is based from the SCIS Model of
Instruction by researchers Atkins and Karplus
in 1967.
5E Model was originally proposed by BSCS
(Biological Science Curriculum Study) in the
late1980’s.
5E LEARNING CYCLE
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
http://www.bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model
Scientific
Argument
Student Discourse
Writing
STUDENT DISCOURSE
WHY IS TALK IMPORTANT IN THE
SCIENCE CLASSROOM?
Talk Science Primer, Pages 4 – 6
AS WE CONSIDER THE IMPORTANCE OF
TALK IN THE SCIENCE CLASSROOM…
 How are the ideas and information
that you read connected to our
conversation about argument?
 What new ideas did you get that
extended or broadened your
thinking in new directions?
 What challenges or puzzles have
come up in your mind from the
ideas and information presented?
Adapted from Making Thinking Visible; Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison; pages 132 – 139.
GOALS FOR PRODUCTIVE DISCUSSION
Talk Science Primer, Page 9
HOW DOES STUDENT TALK FIT INTO THE
5E LEARNING CYCLE?
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
http://www.bscs.org/bscs-5e-instructional-model
PLANNING FOR
STUDENT DISCOURSE
BEFORE WE MEET AGAIN…